Fire Sto. Tomas for issuing unjustified return-to-work order againstHacienda Luisita Workers; Rep Noynoy Aquino a disappointment as he tries tojustify attack against strikers that led to eight deaths

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today demanded the immediateresignation of Patricia Sto. Tomas, saying that the return-to-work order sheissued against the striking workers and farmworkers of the Cojuangco-Aquinoowned Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac was used as the basis for the army assaultthat left eight workers dead and tens of others seriously injured. He demandedthe President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should in no uncertain terms remove Sto.Tomas from her post.

"Sto. Tomas has once more proven her mettle as a viciously anti-workerbureaucrats protector of the economic interest of employers and capitalists,including land owners. She has played an infamous role in this massacre, andshe should be made responsible, along with the Cojuangcos led byex-Congressman Peping and current Deputy speaker Noynoy Aquino," he said. "Sheshould be investigated for this latest anti-worker caper of hers that resultedin so many deaths. She has blood on her hands, and she is as responsible forthe deaths as the Cojuangcos."

Beltran said that Sto. Tomas' decision to lay down the return to work orderwas out of line, and cannot be justified. "The negotiations between the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU) crashed and burned because ofthe stubbornness and hard-heartedness of the Cojuangcos. Sto. Tomas' RTW order was deliberately and transparently biased in favor of the Cojuangcos,disregarding the stand and position of the workers who were still very opento negotiations and a principled, dignified compromise."

Beltran said that as labor secretary, Sto. Tomas has also turned a blind eye tothe deployment of troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to the strike area. He said that nodoubt, Sto. Tomas was invoking the recently drawn memorandum of agreement(MOA) between the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Departmentof Interior and Local Government (DILG) allowing LGUs to take action regardinglabor disputes that take place within the areas of their jurisdiction.

Last September 6, 2004, the DOLE signed the implementing rules and regulations(IRR) operationalizing the memorandum of agreement (MOA) that defines the termsof cooperation between the agencies in supposedly promoting industrial peace andlabor standards in workplaces nationwide.

"In short, it was the Cojuangcos who called for police and military back-up.What right have they to call on and order the AFP and PNP to protect theirproperty and violate the labor and human rights of strikers ? Sto . Tomasand the Cojuangcos colluded against the strikers and should be roundlydenounced for being the masterminds of the violence that erupted yesterday,"he said.

In the meantime, Beltran shook his head at the conduct of Deputy Speaker NoynoyAquino and his words yesterday in plenary when he defended his family's standagainst the strike. "Rep. Aquino has been acting as the spokesperson of theCojuangcos and as part of the management. There is no other way to interprethis words last night but as a defense and justification of the violence the AFPand PNP unleashed against the unarmed workers. As a representative of hisdistrict, it should have been his duty to protect the interest of hisconstituents, who also happened to be workers in his family's hacienda. Lastnight, Rep. Aquino was a true disappointment as he sought to discredit thestrike, malign the union, and justify the army assault against theworkers," he said.#